1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the generation of electrical power in space. In particular it concerns generating electricity from the electromotive power of the solar wind by utilizing plasma plumes ejected across the interplanetary magnetic field of the solar wind.
2. Description of Related Art
It has been proposed to generate electrical power in space within the magnetosphere of the earth by trailing long wires or "tethers" from spacecraft, such as the shuttle or space station, converting some of the energy of relative motion between the spacecraft and the magnetospheric plasma into electrical power. This procedure would be impractical except in the presence of a relatively strong flux such as the magnetosphere of the earth because of the extreme length of the tethers that would be required. Moreover, generation of electrical power in this fashion comes at the expense of kinetic energy that would be lost by the spacecraft.
It has been further proposed for the just described procedure to locate small plasma guns at electrodes at the trailing ends of the tethers to improve current collection by surrounding the electrode to, in essence, increase its effective size.
The solar wind, constituted of ionized molecules escaping and moving outwardly of the sun, pervades the solar system, except for regions close to a planet having a magnetosphere that excludes it. It is known that the this plasma has an accompanying, or "frozen in," magnetic field.
In experiments in space lithium and barium plasma clouds have been artificially produced by ejecting into space finely divided lithium and barium compounds which ionize, because they are exposed to the solar wind. Using magnetic sensors induced electrical currents were detected, along with the exclusion of the interplanetary magnetic field from the cloud interior.